If you could have one mountain bike, would it be a trail or XC bike?

[DieselnDust]

I'm also wanting to upgrade, and face the same dilemma.  The Scott Genius (or Scott Spark 710 plus - but $$$$) seems, on paper, to hit the spot...more travel and slacker geometry, but the option to take both 27.5 wheels AND 29...so with 1 bike and 2 sets of wheels, I could potentially have the best of both worlds?  

 

How are you finding the bb clearance / pedal strikes?  This seems to be an issue flagged on some forums...

 

 

Depends where you ride. Its a problem for the Spark as well. Tricky bike to pedal through rock gardens.

On rocky stony trails like Welvenpas, and out koue bokkeveldway i.e. TankwaTrek, its not the best choice.

For Grabouw its ok and Paul Kluver or Stellenbosch its good.

 

I prefer a bike with more bb clearance though. Don't look at the geo charts here either. Very misleading until sag is accounted for

[NickGM]

The UK doesn't have a strong MTB event focus. Maybe in last 5 years they've kicked it up but as far back as I can remember UK MTBer's were crazy for bikes like a Specialized Enduro when I was ridign the same trails on a CAAD series hardtail with 70mm travel. Those folks considered a trail bike necessary because their trails were muddy.

Their biggest events were poor;y attended XCO leagues and the very popular Shimano Sleepless in the Saddle 24hr series, which was basically about seeing how muddy you could the bike in 24hr and whose hub bearings would fail first. Even today the trail parks don't have a lot of elevation and gradient that requires a trail or enduro bike. Everythng is perfectly rideable on a steel 26er hartail. Many of the UK guys who come here for the Epic can;t believe how rough the trails and these are the manicured ones! The opinion among them seems to be that the longer travel bikes sell well over there because they like to dress up in kit.People use knee and elbow guards for the South Downs!

Actually they buy the long travel bikes for the one week of the year when they go to the Alps for a bit of fun.

 

 

Yeah I'm guessing you didn't spend much time at welsh and scottish trail centres then. Good luck trying to ride the black trails at those centres on a hardtail. It would be possible, but it would be a very lousy day out and you'd and much more fun with 140mm travel.  As for all the kit...well I think choosing to put on knee pads is a lot more sensible than voluntarily dressing up in lycra. Besides, the riders I met over there trended to be a lot more technically competent (but less fit) so would hit technical stuff at speed. The knee pads and elbow pads made sense. 

 

The scene is just different here. It's much more XC oriented. IN the UK the trail centres were funded by the EU (not for much longer) so a professional team of trail builders would go out each week and make sure the berms were all in mint condition. It was a bit artificial, but a day at Coed Y Brenin or Glentress trumps Jonkerhoek every time - And I like jonkershoek.

[BigDL]

Marathon bikes work here because 90 % of the trails here in the WC are built around accommodating Marathon events or all morning epic trail rides. The lack of technical features is a legacy of many of those trails being originally built in the 90's when the bikes were very different and riders were only beginning to define what MTB is. These trails have evolved but they're all still perfectly rideable on an XC bike and are also focused around marathon and stage events. Event organisers now drive the trail requirements so we're marathon because thats where our market has evolved.

The UK doesn't have a strong MTB event focus. Maybe in last 5 years they've kicked it up but as far back as I can remember UK MTBer's were crazy for bikes like a Specialized Enduro when I was ridign the same trails on a CAAD series hardtail with 70mm travel. Those folks considered a trail bike necessary because their trails were muddy.

Their biggest events were poor;y attended XCO leagues and the very popular Shimano Sleepless in the Saddle 24hr series, which was basically about seeing how muddy you could the bike in 24hr and whose hub bearings would fail first. Even today the trail parks don't have a lot of elevation and gradient that requires a trail or enduro bike. Everythng is perfectly rideable on a steel 26er hartail. Many of the UK guys who come here for the Epic can;t believe how rough the trails and these are the manicured ones! The opinion among them seems to be that the longer travel bikes sell well over there because they like to dress up in kit.People use knee and elbow guards for the South Downs!

Actually they buy the long travel bikes for the one week of the year when they go to the Alps for a bit of fun.

 

A few years ago when I was spending a bit of time in Singapore, folks there were buying 140mm travel bikes basically because there one trail on the island that has a few black diamond sections (Bukit Timar I think it was called). It was perfect for a nimble XCO bike due to the very tight turns and steep damp climbs : 200m elevation around a 6km track.

Boet, I am not sure where you rode, but I would suggest that your experience was either very limited or that you are just an amazing rider, for whom all trails are easy.

 

When I moved back to SA, I couldn’t get over how much less technical SA trails were than UK generally. Not in all cases, but as a general rule, which would explain why short travel bikes are the norm and marathon the craze.

 

If you visit the 7 Staines in Scotland, bike park Wales, bike park Ireland and most trail centres in between, you will find long travel bikes are the norm because the trails are suited to them. Maybe not for your superior skills, but for us mere mortals.

[Dieter ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)]

I would say trail bike.

Do you want to hurt on the uphills or the downhills? I would rather my legs suffer a bit more every climb and have a bit more bike for when I run out of talent. The only chance I ever have at a podium are fun races when everyone assumes it will be rained out and I enter the distance one up from the push bike ride. 

[DieselnDust]

Yeah I'm guessing you didn't spend much time at welsh and scottish trail centres then. Good luck trying to ride the black trails at those centres on a hardtail. It would be possible, but it would be a very lousy day out and you'd and much more fun with 140mm travel.  As for all the kit...well I think choosing to put on knee pads is a lot more sensible than voluntarily dressing up in lycra. Besides, the riders I met over there trended to be a lot more technically competent (but less fit) so would hit technical stuff at speed. The knee pads and elbow pads made sense. 

 

The scene is just different here. It's much more XC oriented. IN the UK the trail centres were funded by the EU (not for much longer) so a professional team of trail builders would go out each week and make sure the berms were all in mint condition. It was a bit artificial, but a day at Coed Y Brenin or Glentress trumps Jonkerhoek every time - And I like jonkershoek.

Admittedly I've not ridden all the black trails at the following because some have no bale out option and if you don't know the trail well and don't have enough confidence.....

Coed y brenin

Nant Yr arian

betwys y coed

bike park Wales

Innerleithen

some stuff around the Nevis which I believe is now also a trail centre?the nice thing about the black trails in the UK is that they really are graded correctly. Over here our black should probably only be red. Well some of them.

Thing is it's the jumps and gaps that make their trails intimidating. A skilled rider can ride the black trails on an xco bike.

 

 

Jonkershoek is fun. But the terrain is unforgiving. The UK trails are highly manicured.

[Hairy]

Trail bike without a doubt

[ABrooks]

I was in the same dilemma. I can only have one bike. I rode Jonkershoek mostly and enjoyed the longer days out on the bike.

 

I decided to sell my 100mm xc-race bike (Silverback Sesta) and buy a nice trail bike (Spez Stumpy). Looking at the numbers the trail bike is a bit slower and heavier, but it is much more comfortable and confidence inspiring than the Silverback ever was.

 

I could ride the whole of Armageddon with my Silverback, but on the Stumpy I feel more in control and much more stable going down. It feels like the better geometry and extra travel allows you to make mistakes and not having to pay for it with your body. I had a dropper on both bikes so it was not a saddle-up-the-arse case.

 

I am now fully convinced that if you can only have one bike to do it all, buy a trail bike.

[hendrich]

YETI SB150

 

DONE DEAL

[Headshot]

A modern XC bike is very trail capable. For 90% of the trails a trail-bike is overkill. I prefer the faster bike overall and I do not want a bike that makes the trails too easy.

Ha ha , you must be an ace like Nino then? What you say is half true - you clearly want a bike that makes the uphills easier hence the XC bike and are quite hapy to compromise on the fun going down. Have you thought about going full rigid for the ultimate challenge :-)  

[MORNE]

some guys need to go watch some Sam Pilgrim - "free bike" videos on youtube lol. Here we are discussing wether or not you need to buy a yellow or red ferrari and hes doing backflips and downhill on some 90s hardtail POS spaz he picked up next to a dumpster for free (hence freebike), put some fox40's on it for giggles and just rides it because its scary and fun lol. yes yes i know...skillz

 

part1:

 

part fox 40:

 

here he's going doing bikepark crazyness on a "makro special" haha

Edited April 5, 2019 by morneS555

[arendoog]

It has now been revealed that the value of n is in fact 8

 I can confirm that n is indeed 8 .The bike permanently on the IDT also counts 

Edited April 5, 2019 by arendoog

[DuncanDoughnuts]

Just to chime in here...

 

Short travel 29ers are really under rated, and you will be surprised what they can do.

 

I am not the best rider, and I happen to be am lucky enough to own a 150/160mm (Ibis HD3) 650 bike and 110/120 (Tallboy 3) 29er.

 

There are only a sections I would not try on the 29er that I can do on the 150mm enduro bike. But that is purely due to skill. Yes the one takes more finesse. but it is just as capable. 

 

That being said it will be very difficult to find a long travel trail bike that will not climb well now days. 

 

But if I had to have just one bike ... It would be a 120mm 29er. It can do everything well. 

[Headshot]

Admittedly I've not ridden all the black trails at the following because some have no bale out option and if you don't know the trail well and don't have enough confidence.....

Coed y brenin

Nant Yr arian

betwys y coed

bike park Wales

Innerleithen

some stuff around the Nevis which I believe is now also a trail centre?the nice thing about the black trails in the UK is that they really are graded correctly. Over here our black should probably only be red. Well some of them.

Thing is it's the jumps and gaps that make their trails intimidating. A skilled rider can ride the black trails on an xco bike.

 

 

Jonkershoek is fun. But the terrain is unforgiving. The UK trails are highly manicured.

A skilled rider - Nino?  The Brit riders I have encountered have all had above average skills because they mess about in the short but steep hills and slippery mud and also go and ride the Alps, because they can.  

 

Most people on XCO bikes in SA are on the wrong bike. I've seen people walking their bikes down Armageddon at JH being passed by trail runners. Far better to get the skills on a proper trail bike and then try those black and red trails on an XC bike. The other way around is the rather stupid SA way. People here say - "Oooh, I can't ride downhill fast I'm too scared, I must buy a marathon bike (that makes me even more fearful on the downs because I dont know how to progress my skills) I'll hurt myself on a trail bike". Then they promptly go and fall off going over a speed bump on the tar and can't use their Epic ticket. 

 

This "you can ride anything on an XCO bike" applies to a select few very skilled mainly pro riders and is poor advice for an aspiring mountain biker. Its a sure fire way to ensure that the necessary skills are learned far more slowly than they need be by beginners.  Alan Hatherly started out as a downhiller and Beers used to race MX. Thats not your average Epic participant or beginner XC rider in SA.

[gummibear]

At the moment i have a 120mm 27.5 bike with a 68.5 deg head angle.My 1 bike would be a 130-140mm with 27.5 wheels and a slacker head tube.

[gummibear]

Right now this would tick all the boxes for me.

 

[ABrooks]

 

Most people on XCO bikes in SA are on the wrong bike. I've seen people walking their bikes down Armageddon at JH being passed by trail runners. Far better to get the skills on a proper trail bike and then try those black and red trails on an XC bike. The other way around is the rather stupid SA way. People here say - "Oooh, I can't ride downhill fast I'm too scared, I must buy a marathon bike (that makes me even more fearful on the downs because I dont know how to progress my skills) I'll hurt myself on a trail bike". Then they promptly go and fall off going over a speed bump on the tar and can't use their Epic ticket.

 

 

I feel some bike shops are partially to blame for this. Walk into a big store like Cwc or bike-addict. Most bikes on their floor will be xc bikes. Because that is what the pro's ride. I feel they have a obligation to help and steer newbie rider who want to start mountain biking to better suited bikes or at the very least warn them on the limitations of the bike they are buying.

 

I'm not talking about the guy that buys a hardtail because he is on a budget, we've all been there. I'm talking about the guys who buys Scalpal's or Epics who would be better off with a more relaxed bike.